News and Updates

GSLIS at the 2015 All for One Conference: A Library State of Mind

GSLIS and CCB affiliates will make a strong showing at the first joint conference run by ILA and ISLMA, in collaboration with the IACRL and the Illinois chapter of the SLA, from October 22 to 24 at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, IL. GSLIS K-12 School Librarianship program coordinator Georgeann Burch will present a workshop on designing school library spaces with Adjunct Professor Fred Schlipf. Also at this conference, visit Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and CCB affiliate Kate McDowell and others at the GSLIS exhibit booth, and attend the GSLIS Happy Hour reception on Friday, October 23. Details about all of these events are in the Our Affiliates Out and About section of this newsletter.

Thursday, October 15: CCB Brown Bag: Hogwarts Academy, 12 pm Come find out how one teacher-librarian, one teenage assistant, fifteen 4th-8th graders, and a handful of volunteers bring Harry Potter’s world to life.

Our Affiliates Out and About

CCB affiliate and K-12 Library Information Specialist Licensure Program Coordinator Georgeann Burch will be co-presenting at the Illinois Library Association’s All for One conference, “A Library State of Mind: 2015 Illinois Academic, Public, School & Special Libraries Conference” with Dr. Fred Schlipf. Through their presentation, entitled “Designing School Library Spaces That Work,” Burch and Schlipf encourage school librarians to address and advocate for their space needs, all with a practical eye towards common architectural missteps. Representing the first combination of ILA, ISLMA, IACRL, and SLA Illinois, this conference will be held at the Peoria Civic Center on October 22-24. Interested attendees should consider joining ISLMA, the Illinois School Library Media Association, as student rates were recently reduced to $25.00. Visit Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Kate McDowell and others at the GSLIS booth (#213), or join the GSLIS happy hour on Friday night.

Associate Professor and CCB affiliate Carol Tilley recently delivered a Banned Books Week presentation at Harper College, entitled “Comics, Classrooms, and Censorship.” In one of several events throughout this annual celebration, Tilley discussed important historical milestones in the evolution of comics as we know them today. Read more about the presentation and Tilley’s work here in the GSLIS Newsroom.

Feature: Interview with Rachel Magee, Assistant Professor

It’s been a busy time for youth services at GSLIS, with the latest news being Dr. Rachel Magee’s introduction to the youth services team as an Assistant Professor. Now that the semester is in full swing, the CCB was pleased to sit down with Dr. Magee to learn about her background and the perspective she brings to the field.

From the age of fourteen, Magee suspected she would one day become a librarian. Volunteering and then working at her local library, she put together a literary magazine and ran youth programs throughout high school. After a brief interlude studying radio, television, and film in college, Magee earned her MLIS and returned to the field as a teen librarian.

Although she never anticipated a career in research, it was a natural progression from her library work. “I wanted to know what actually was going on in teens’ everyday lives, and felt the need to get out there and ask them about it,” she explains. In conjunction with her PhD at Drexel University’s College of Computing and Informatics, Magee designed her initial research to investigate how youth interact with technology in their various social spheres.

Magee says that working with teenagers is one of the most rewarding elements of her research. The real challenge lies in the administrative details and thoughtful research ethics when developing a new study. As such, she encourages aspiring researchers to “[make] sure that you’re working on ideas and problems that are going to be relevant for the people that you are studying.” With those values in mind, Magee has plans to make the youth themselves the leaders in the research process. “I’m hoping to develop something like a camp or an immersive experience where not only are young people learning about how research is done, but they’re also engaging in doing the research.”

In the midst of all of her research plans, Magee has not forgotten what it means to be a librarian in the field. Thinking about her own experiences, she asserts that “one of the qualities of a good librarian or good service provider is being able to do as much as you can with as little as you’re given.” Considering how taxing this profession can be, Magee also stresses the importance of self care and pursuing individual interests, because “anything that you’re interested in can be really useful” in a reference interaction. For all of the stress in the field, though, she acknowledges the amazing impact that librarians can have. “You have the opportunity to really change people’s lives, and you never know when that’s going to happen.”

Magee will be teaching Youth Services Community Engagement later this fall and Media Literacy for Youth in the spring. In the meantime, she looks forward to becoming more familiar with GSLIS and the community. “If you’re interested in getting to know me better, or if you have questions for me that I can help with, definitely get in touch.” After all, she says, “Once a librarian, always a librarian.”

New Books We Just Had to Read

Every month, the CCB Graduate Assistants highlight books reviewed in the most recent issue of the Bulletin that we were excited to read. These decisions are based on personal preference, but all books listed are Recommended by the Bulletin. For complete reviews, visit the Bulletin website (http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/) to learn how to subscribe.

Carson’s mom forced him to move from New York City to Montana for the summer so they could take care of his estranged but dying father. Carson quickly befriends a girl named Aisha, but any future romantic hopes are dashed when it turns out that Aisha is gay and her father recently kicked her out of the house. Carson’s aloof father and unusually patient therapist mother agree to take Aisha in for a while, and the teens begin the task of cleaning out Carson’s father’s disaster of a house. During the cleanup, Carson uncovers a decades-old clue that changes the story of his grandfather’s mysterious disappearance. As their investigation takes them on the road, Carson and Aisha develop an authentically tumultuous friendship that is full of the fights that occur when you can barely figure yourself out, let alone another person. Despite the quirky title and the sheer number of puns contained within, this is a surprisingly earnest roadtrip book which opens a window into the casual way the inexperience of youth can view the tragedies of the not-too-distant past.

Fourteen of the trendiest young adult authors come together in this cutthroat collection of horror stories, inspired by pop culture references ranging from Nirvana’s “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle” to Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. At the heart of each tale, daring female characters appear on the scene to take their revenge against those who have wronged them. Even in death, these young women know how to make their enemies pay. Tucholke’s collection of stories would make fantastic read-alouds for eerie October nights, while the corresponding cultural references lend themselves well to programming opportunities. Not for the faint of heart, these stories are richly developed with gruesome, bloody details that will draw the attention of even the most apathetic readers. Jay Kristoff’s “Sleepless” and Marie Lu’s “The Girl Without a Face” kept me up at night, while Shepherd’s “Hide-and-Seek” and Suma’s “The Birds of Azalea Street” offered the perfect amount of spookiness to delight horror newbies. For those looking for a thrilling and smart October read, this collection will certainly deliver.